The behavioural approach to explaining phobias Flashcards
What is the two-process model?
Hobart Mowrer proposed the two-process model to explain how phobias are learned. Stage 1 is classical conditioning and stage 2 is operant conditioning.
What is the study + theory of classical conditioning?
Theory: a phobia is acquired through association between a neutral stimulus (NS) and a stimulus response.
Study: Little Albert
Watson had Albert (11 month baby) see different white fluffy things such as a white rat + rabbit and furry ball (NS) and which resulted in no response.
Then a loud noise was created whenever he reached for the rat (UCS) - repeated 3 times then a week later.
After this, he was shown the rat and other white fluffy objects and he began to cry. This conditioned a new fear response.
What is the order of classical conditioning?
NS –> no response
UCS –> fear response/UCR
UCS + NS –> fear response/UCR
CS –> CR
Explain operant conditioning
classical condition shows how a phobia can be acquired but not why people feel fearful and avoid fear objects.
operant conditioning is the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated is increased if the outcome is rewarding. (example of negative reinforcement)
An individual avoids anxiety created by phobia by avoiding them entirely.
What is the social learning theory?
It is a Neo-behaviourist explanation.
It states a phobia may also be acquired through modelling the behaviours of others e.g parents
How is the two-process model supported by research? (evaluation)
people can often recall an incident which occurred to cause the phobia, e.g. been bitten by a dog. However, not everyone with a phobia can recall a situation occurring to cause the phobia - some say due to the trauma it was forgotten however some suggest that it is due to different processes. This demonstrates the role of classical conditioning in developing phobias.
Why is it suggested there is an incomplete explanation? (evaluation)
If a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a fearful situation, a phobia should be formed but his doesn’t always happen. research has found that not everyone who was bitten by a dog has a phobia of dogs, this can be explained by the diathesis-stress model. This suggests some people may be more vulnerable to phobias due to a genetic vulnerability to developing mental disorders, meaning the behavioural explanation is incomplete.
What supported social learning? (evaluation)
Bandura + Rosenthal supported social learning theory in their study which consisted of a model acting in pain every me a buzzer sounded, later on PP who observed this showed a reaction to the buzzer. This supports that the behaviour of others can affect the acquisition of phobias.
